Physicians’ circularity in health regions in Brazil / Circularidade dos médicos nas regiões de saúde no Brasil

Objectives: to characterize the medical circularity in Brazil and to discuss the case in the North and South Barretos regions, São Paulo. Methods: a cross-sectional study using secondary data from the national registrations and a case study of physician’s sample in the North-Barretos and South-Barretos regions. Results: in the health regions in Brazil, on an average, 45% of the physicians in activities circulate in more than one region. The Capitals of the States have more stable physicians while more than 50% of the medical workforce work in other regions. The professionals with the greatest tendency to move from one work place to another are those who work in surgical specialties in services to uphold the diagnostic and therapy. Conclusions: there is a high circulation of physicians among the regions, with distinct characteristics between geographical and health regions. In case of Barretos area, the professionals move from one workplace to another according to their professional association and specialized practice.

Objetivos: caracterizar a circularidade médica no Brasil e a discutir o caso das regiões Norte-Barretos e Sul-Barretos, São Paulo. Métodos: estudo transversal com uso de dados secundários de cadastros nacionais e estudo de caso de uma amostra de médicos nas regiões Norte-Barretos e Sul-Barretos. Resultados: em média, nas regiões de saúde do Brasil, 45% dos médicos em atividades circulam em mais de uma região. As capitais dos estados têm médicos mais estáveis, enquanto que mais de 50% da força de trabalho médica atua em outras regiões. Os profissionais com maior tendência de mudança são aqueles que trabalham em especialidades cirúrgicas em serviços para apoiar o diagnóstico e a terapia. Resultados: em média, nas regiões de saúde do Brasil, 45% dos médicos em atividades circulam em mais de uma região. As capitais dos estados têm médicos mais estáveis, enquanto que mais de 50% da força de trabalho médica atua em outras regiões. Os profissionais com maior tendência de mudança são aqueles que trabalham em especialidades cirúrgicas em serviços para apoiar o diagnóstico e a terapia. Conclusões: há uma alta circulação de médicos entre as regiões, com características distintas entre regiões geográficas e regiões de saúde. No caso de Barretos, os profissionais se movimentam em função de sua associação profissional e de especialidades praticadas.

Physicians' job satisfaction and motivation in a public academic hospital.

BACKGROUND: Physician shortage is a global issue that concerns Brazil's authorities. The organizational structure and the environment of a medical institution can hide a low-quality life of a physician. This study examines the relationship between the hospital work environment and physicians' job satisfaction and motivation when working in a large public academic hospital. METHODS: The study was restricted to one large, multispecialty Brazil's hospital. Six hundred hospital physicians were invited to participate by e-mail. A short version of the Physician Worklife Survey (PWS) was used to measure working satisfaction. Physicians were also asked for socio-demographic information, medical specialty, and the intention to continue working in the hospital. RESULTS: Data from 141 questionnaires were included in the analyses. Forty-five physicians graduated from the hospital's university, and they did not intend to leave the hospital under any circumstance (affective bond). The motivating factor for beginning the career at the hospital and to continue working there were the connection to the medical school and the hospital status as a "prestigious academic hospital"; the physicians were more satisfied with the career than the specialty. Only 30% completely agreed with the statement "If I had to start my career over again, I would choose my current specialty," while 45% completely agreed with the statement "I am not well compensated given my training and experience." The greater point of satisfaction was the relationship with physician colleagues. They are annoyed about the amount of calls they are requested to take and about how work encroaches on their personal time. No significant differences between medical specialties were found in the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The participants were satisfied with their profession. The fact that they remained at the hospital was related to the academic environment, the relationship with colleagues, and the high prestige in which society holds the institution. The points of dissatisfaction were inadequate remuneration and the fact that work invaded personal time. Routinely, there is a need for organizations to examine the impact of their structures, policies, and procedures on the stress and quality of life of physicians.

[Structural conditions for regionalization in health care: typology of Regional Management Boards]. / Condicionantes estruturais da regionalização na saúde: tipologia dos Colegiados de Gestão Regional.

An explanation is required for the delay in implementing the regionalization strategy and the fragile nature of the combined decentralization and regionalization initiatives in Brazil. The article raises some hypotheses to clarify this intricate issue and reviews the structural conditioning factors of the regionalization process ongoing in the states. A national typology of the health care regions is prepared, differentiating them according to the degree of socio-economic development and the characteristics of the health care network and of the municipalities that form the Regional Management Boards (CGR), formally implanted by January 2010. Factorial and cluster analysis models were used to build the typology. Five major socio-economic groups of CGRs were identified, described according to their regional distribution, population, health care spending, profile of services offered (including the public-private sector mix) and health service coverage. The results obtained serve as guidelines for the constitution of health care networks and new initiatives at the regional level, in order to improve the regionalization policy and favour the construction of diverse and flexible regulatory instruments that are more in tune with the regional state of affairs.

[Primary health care and urban dynamics in large cities in São Paulo State, Brazil]. / Atenção básica e dinâmica urbana nos grandes municípios paulistas, Brasil.

The Baseline Studies on the Project for Expansion and Consolidation of the Family Health Strategy created primary health care indicators and models for the 62 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in São Paulo State, Brazil, and identified varying patterns for these indicators and models in relation to different urban dynamics in the State. The studies showed the need to reflect on health in relation to urban land use. The main objective was to gain a better understanding of how urban dynamics influence the health system's profile, organization, and operation, based on which it was possible to extract some hypotheses and discussions regarding how urbanization in São Paulo State creates challenges for the expansion and consolidation of primary health care and the Family Health Program in these municipalities.

[High expenditure on a private healthcare plan: for whom and in what]. / Gastos elevados em plano privado de saúde: com quem e em quê

OBJECTIVE: To assess expenditures and the profile of beneficiaries of a private health plan and the impact of these expenditures on the finances of both the plan and of beneficiaries. METHODS: Descriptive study including 64,219 customers of a health insurance plan of the State of São Paulo in the year of 2003. The characteristics of high spenders were assessed according to age group, gender, type of expenditure, and related diseases. RESULTS: Among all customers, 642 beneficiaries (1%) were the highest spender in the year, accounting for 36% of the total. Among these beneficiaries, 45% were elderly, over 60 years old. Greatest expenditure was with medical supplies and drugs. Circulatory diseases, cancer, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory tract diseases and the external causes were most frequently associated with these expenditures. CONCLUSIONS: Age is an important factor associated with high expenditures, being closely connected with chronic degenerative diseases. Thus, ageing of the population points out to the need for strategic changes in the management of private health care plans.